Classic

Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson is a short, beautifully written description of Edinburgh by a classic author with a deep connection to this, his place of birth.

This book is divided into ten chapters. Stevenson gives particular attention to Edinburgh Old Town, Parliament Close, Greyfriars Kirk, New Town, Calton Hill, and the Pentlands. Stevenson describes the views, the buildings, the people that walk the streets, the legends that abound, the weather. He vividly captures in words the feelings that Edinburgh creates in the hearts of those who traverse her streets.

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850 and grew up in the city, eventually becoming famous for such works as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He possessed a winsomeness with the pen that has been enjoyed by readers the world over. It is fitting that he should pay tribute to the city of his birth in the pages of this book.

“Half a capital and half a country town, the whole city leads a double existence; it has long trances of the one and flashes of the other; like the king of the Black Isles, it is half alive and half a monumental marble.”

“It was a grey, dropping day; the grass was strung with rain-drops; and the people in the houses kept hanging out their shirts and petticoats and angrily taking them in again, as the weather turned from wet to fair and back again.”

“There is no Edinburgh emigrant, far or near, from China to Peru, but he or she carries some lively pictures of the mind, some sunset behind the Castle cliffs, some snow scene, some maze of city lamps, indelible in the memory and delightful to study in the intervals of toil. For any such, if this book fall in their way, here are a few more home pictures. It would be pleasant, if they should recognize a house where they had dwelt, or a walk that they had taken.”

Travel Notes: This is an ideal book to read while you are in Edinburgh as it provides one with a beautiful introduction to each part of the city and some history behind the various sections of the city and its most famous buildings. It is also a delight to read after a visit to Edinburgh as each chapter will bring to mind memories of what was enjoyed in person.

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